<ul>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">Foresight announces the second close of the South West Fund with a £50 million investment from Avon Pension Fund</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">The Fund was initially launched with a cornerstone investment from Devon Pension Fund</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;">The Fund will support the growth of small and medium sized companies (“SMEs”) across the South West of England</li>
</ul>
Bath, March 2025: Foresight Group (“Foresight”), a leading FTSE 250 listed private equity and infrastructure investment manager, has announced the second close of an evergreen fund dedicated to investing into growing companies throughout South West England (the “Fund”).
The Fund was initially launched with a cornerstone investment from Devon Pension Fund and has secured a further £50 million investment from Avon Pension Fund to achieve a second close at £100m.
The Fund will target smaller equity investments in established, promising companies with growth potential across South West England, including Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.
The Fund will help growing companies across the region to achieve their business ambitions, support the local economy, and deliver positive social outcomes by creating high-quality, local jobs. It will invest into a broad range of sectors, across the full range of transaction types including growth capital, buy-outs and equity release.
The Fund is designed to be evergreen, providing a permanent pool of capital around which SMEs can make long term plans. The Fund is flexible and will support the business community in South West England for the long term, tailoring investments to meet the needs and plans of each company.
Councillor Paul Crossley, Chair Avon Pension Fund Committee said: “There is a demand for funding for small and medium sized companies, and investment is crucial to ensure local businesses can reach their full potential. We’re very pleased to support this fund with a £50 million commitment which is Avon Pension Fund’s latest local impact initiative, following our recent successful investments into renewable energy and affordable housing in the South West. We see great potential in the businesses located across the region and we believe this Fund will support the creation of high-quality, local jobs and positively impact the local economy.”
Matt Smith, Partner at Foresight Group, commented: “We are delighted to announce we’ve reached our target in the second close of the South West Fund with support from both Devon Pension Fund and Avon Pension Fund. The additional investment from the Avon Pension Fund will allow us to invest in more ambitious growing companies across the South West.”
 ENDS
Notes to Editors
About Foresight Group
Founded in 1984, Foresight is a leading investment manager in real assets and capital for growth, operating across UK, Europe, and Australia.
With decades of experience, Foresight offers investors access to attractive investment opportunities at the forefront of change. Foresight actively builds and grows investment solutions to support the energy transition, decarbonise industry, enhance nature recovery and realise the economic potential of ambitious companies.
A constituent of the FTSE 250 index, Foresight’s diversified investment strategies combine financial and operational skillsets to maximise asset value and provide attractive returns to its investors. Its wide range of private and public funds is complemented with a variety of investment solutions designed for the retail market.
Foresight is united by a shared commitment to build a sustainable future and grow thriving companies and economies. Visit https://foresight.group for more information. Follow us on LinkedIn for key updates.
&nbsp;<img src="https://media.umbraco.io/foresight/cxybd5ze/image.png?mode=max&amp;anchor=&amp;width=500&amp;height=96" alt="" width="500" height="96">
About Avon Pension Fund
Avon Pension Fund administers the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) for over 140,000 members across 450 employers in the former Avon area. The Fund is administered by Bath &amp; North East Somerset Council which is legally responsible for the Fund.
The Fund manages assets of £6 billion which underpin future pension promises. Avon Pension Fund’s overall commitment to local impact investing including the Foresight Fund is a 3% or c.£175m allocation.
Visit www.avonpensionfund.org.uk for more information.
&nbsp;
For more information contact:
Chris Barry, Influential: Barry@thisisinfluential.com / +44 (0)7733 103 693 Foresight Group: marketing@foresightgroup.eu / +44 (0)20 3667 8100

Foresight South West Fund achieves second close at £100 million with the support of Avon Pension Fund

March 2025: The South Yorkshire Pensions Authority has announced the launch of two new funds to support small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the region after identifying funding gaps that are hindering growth. The Pension Authority has appointed FW Capital and Foresight Group to manage the funds.
Launched earlier this week with an event at Cutler’s Hall, The South Yorkshire Debt Fund will be managed by FW Capital and South Yorkshire Growth Equity Fund by Foresight Group. Each fund will deliver a £20million commitment of much needed finance and provide new sources of investment to support businesses to scale up and innovate. It is designed to stimulate regional growth and create high-quality, sustainable jobs.
Councillor Jayne Dunn, Chair of the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority, said: “We are proud to launch these two £20million investment funds in partnership with Foresight and FW Capital, providing vital support for SMEs across South Yorkshire. By backing local businesses, we are not only fostering economic growth but also creating jobs and driving innovation in our region. This initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to investing in South Yorkshire’s future and ensuring long-term prosperity for our communities."
The South Yorkshire Debt Fund will be managed by FW Capital, one of the UK’s largest regional fund managers with a strong record of supporting businesses in Yorkshire. The new fund is designed to support growing businesses across Barnsley, Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham with loans of up to £2million. Funding can be used for a variety of purposes, such as boosting working capital, purchasing equipment, recruitment, marketing and product development.
Joanne Whitfield, Fund Director at FW Capital, said: “SMEs are vital to the UK and local economies, and South Yorkshire has some impressive and resilient entrepreneurs with ambitious ideas for growth. Access to finance continues to be a significant challenge for many businesses which is why the new South Yorkshire Debt Fund has been created. We are looking forward to supporting as many businesses as we can, with investment and with expertise to help them to thrive. We’re pleased to partner with the South Yorkshire Pension Authority and Foresight to help businesses unlock their potential, boosting confidence and delivering economic prosperity &nbsp;in this area.”
The South Yorkshire Growth Equity Fund will be managed by Foresight Group and is dedicated to investing in ambitious, growing companies across South Yorkshire. It will provide equity investments of up to £2million, typically as part of larger funding rounds of up to £15million through co-investing alongside Foresight’s other funds. The fund will help companies reach their growth potential and build on founders' visions across all sectors and transaction types.
Claire Alvarez, Partner at Foresight Group commented: “We are delighted to be managing this Equity Fund for the South Yorkshire Pensions Authority. We see great potential in the vibrant business community across South Yorkshire and look forward to supporting their local economy and delivering positive social outcomes by creating high-quality, local jobs.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
For more information, please contact:
South Yorkshire Pension Fund: Becci Illage, Communications Officer BIllidge@sypa.org.ukW Capital: Sarah Knox, Marketing and Communications Executive, sarah.knox@fwcapital.co.uk
Foresight Group: <a href="mailto:marketing@foresightgroup.eu">marketing@foresightgroup.eu</a>
&nbsp;
About South Yorkshire Pension Fund Authority
South Yorkshire Pensions Authority is the unique public body responsible for the running of the £11.1billion South Yorkshire Pension Fund which is one of the 86 funds within the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) in England and Wales. The Scheme has around 180,000 members working for around 600 different organisations across the County.
About FW Capital&nbsp;
FW Capital is a fund management company currently managing UK-based funds of £410.8 million.
FW Capital&nbsp;invests in businesses located across the North and South West of England, and across Wales. FW Capital manage a range of funds providing loans to help businesses achieve their growth plans working closely with advisers and businesses to ensure the right funding package is provided for the business needs. Visit <a href="http://www.fwcapital.com">www.fwcapital.com</a> for more information.
FW Capital is part of the DBW Group, one of the UK’s largest SME investors. The DBW Group manages funds of £2 billion. For further information on the Group visit <a href="https://developmentbank.wales">https://developmentbank.wales</a>.
&nbsp;About Foresight Group &nbsp;
Founded in 1984, Foresight is a leading investment manager in real assets and capital for growth, operating across UK, Europe, and Australia.
With decades of experience, Foresight offers investors access to attractive investment opportunities at the forefront of change.&nbsp; Foresight actively builds and grows investment solutions to support the energy transition, decarbonise industry, enhance nature recovery and realise the economic potential of ambitious companies.
A constituent of the FTSE 250 index, Foresight’s diversified investment strategies combine financial and operational skillsets to maximise asset value and provide attractive returns to its investors. Its wide range of private and public funds is complemented with a variety of investment solutions designed for the retail market.
Foresight is united by a shared commitment to build a sustainable future and grow thriving companies and economies.
Visit <a href="https://foresight.group">https://foresight.group</a> for more information.
&nbsp;<img src="https://media.umbraco.io/foresight/cxybd5ze/image.png?mode=max&amp;anchor=&amp;width=500&amp;height=96" alt="" width="500" height="96">

South Yorkshire businesses to benefit from two new £20 million funds to boost growth

Bristol-based sensor technology startup, Zero Point Motion has successfully closed a £4million pre-Series A funding round to transform positioning and navigation. They are backed by investors SCVC (the official funding arm of Science Creates), Foresight Group and Verve Ventures, with seed round investor u-blox AG remaining a key strategic partner and customer.
This investment fuels the company’s rapid scale-up and team expansion as the company emerges from stealth mode, where they have been working on a scalable, volume-manufacturable process for Zero Point Motion’s next-generation positioning and navigation sensors.
At the core of this innovation is a radical fusion of silicon photonics and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), inspired by Nobel Prize-winning gravitational wave detection principles. This cutting-edge approach enables low-cost, ultra-low noise, miniaturised accelerometers and gyroscopes that are 100x more sensitive than conventional MEMS sensors - delivering unprecedented performance and, crucially, resilience in environments where there is no GPS.
Zero Point Motion’s breakthrough in motion sensing is set to transform defence, space exploration, and autonomous systems where precision and reliability are mission-critical. As navigation threats intensify, this technology would enable military operations to function accurately in contested environments – while in space exploration, where every mission is a high-value asset, inertial sensors are crucial for positioning and landing spacecraft.
Closer to home, Zero Point Motion’s sensors unlock new levels of autonomy in off-highway vehicles, drones, agritech and industrial applications, allowing seamless operation in tunnels, underground networks and other remote locations. &nbsp;
“Our mission is to harness light to redefine the future of sensing,”&nbsp;says Dr Lia Li, founder and CEO of Zero Point Motion. “We’re working with two of the world’s leading foundries to push MEMS performance beyond its limits. With top-tier investors and partners behind us, we’re laser-focused on delivering our inertial sensors to customers who demand the highest precision and reliability.
“We’ve also brought more integration and packaging R&amp;D in-house, cutting iteration times from eight weeks to just one day. This agility, combined with our expanding patent portfolio and multiple newly granted patents—ensures we stay ahead of the curve. Our next milestone: product qualification and customer deployment.”
u-blox AG cofounder and executive director, Andreas Thiel adds: “While satellite positioning technology delivers the highest accuracies in open environments, sensor-based dead reckoning is crucial for resilient performance in dense and obstructed urban scenarios. u-blox is known for its advanced positioning and wireless communication technologies, and we see significant potential in Zero Point Motion’s innovative sensor technology. By investing in Zero Point Motion, u-blox can integrate these cutting-edge sensors into our own product offerings, further strengthening our market position and expanding our technological capabilities." &nbsp;
Recognised as one of Sifted’s ‘16 Bristol-based Startups to Watch’, Zero Point Motion has also secured major government and EU funding, including £1.3M from the UK’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) in 2023, followed by a €2.4M grant from the European Innovation Council Accelerator program.
Chris Wiles, Director, Foresight’s Ventures team, says:&nbsp;“Foresight initially invested in Zero Point Motion in 2021 to help Lia and the founding team bring this breakthrough sensing technology into the public domain. We are encouraged by the progress the team has made and the growing market need for accurate navigation and positioning in challenging environments. We are delighted to support the business in this recent funding round and welcome SCVC onboard.”
Harry Destecroix MBE, founder of Science Creates, and cofounder/ managing partner of SCVC, says: “We’re thrilled to back Zero Point Motion as they develop a truly category-defining technology. By applying cutting-edge quantum approaches to motion sensing, Lia and the team are unlocking massive potential for industries like autonomous vehicles, robotics, and consumer electronics.
“Lia is an exceptional founder—her technical brilliance, vision, and leadership make her exactly the kind of entrepreneur we love to support. This is also a great fit for our partner John Williams, who led the deal and will be working closely with the company. With his experience building Kudan, he knows first-hand the challenges in this space and how transformative Zero Point Motion’s technology could be. We can’t wait to see what they achieve.”
With this funding and industry validation, Zero Point Motion is now scaling to set a new global standard in precision motion sensing—delivering breakthrough performance and accelerating autonomy in a GPS-challenged world.&nbsp;
ENDS&nbsp;
Note to editors: Trademarks and registered trademarks referenced herein remain the property of their respective owners.
Press contact&nbsp; Carole Aye Maung / cayemaung@cambridgemc.com Foresight Group / <a href="mailto:marketing@foresightgroup.eu">marketing@foresightgroup.eu</a>
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About Zero Point Motion: Zero Point Motion is pioneering sensor technology through the integration of silicon photonics and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). Founded by award winning physicist and inventor Dr. Ying Lia Li, Zero Point Motion leverages Nobel Prize-winning gravitational wave detection principles to develop ultra-sensitive, low-cost, miniaturized accelerometers and gyroscopes. These sensors are poised to transform industries such as defense, agritech, autonomous vehicles, consumer electronics and industrial logistics. Committed to challenging traditional development and fabrication norms, Zero Point Motion's mission is to bring aerospace-grade performance to commercial markets, revolutionizing indoor positioning, autonomous navigation, and beyond. For more information, please see – <a href="https://www.zeropointmotion.com">www.zeropointmotion.com</a>
 About Foresight’s Ventures Strategy: Foresight's Ventures team makes equity investments into fast-growing companies that are building some of the most exciting deep tech, hard tech and enterprise software. It is part of Foresight Group’s award-winning Private Equity division, which specialises in growth &amp; buyout, venture capital and private credit. Its investment team is based across the UK and Ireland, with venture partners based in the US, Israel and UAE.
Foresight Group, with over £12 billion AUM, invests to support the energy transition, decarbonise industry, enhance nature recovery and realise the economic potential and positive impact of ambitious companies.&nbsp;

Zero Point Motion Emerges from Stealth with £4M Pre-Series A to Revolutionise Motion Sensing

Zero Point Motion closes £4million funding round to revolutionise motion sensing

<h3 style="text-align: center;">Joint Statement Regarding a Possible Cash Offer for HEIT by Foresight.</h3>
For more information, <a href="https://www.foresight.group/heit">visit here.</a>

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Joint Statement Regarding a Possible Cash Offer for HEIT by Foresight.

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